Review: Slow scans but good protection mark MalwareScannerPro

MalwareScannerPro protects your PC from viruses, rootkits, trojans, worms, and other malware with both quick and deep scan options and regular updates. It's not an antivirus solution but an additional layer of protection that runs alongside your existing security tools, either at startup or whenever you choose. Like similar tools, MalwareScannerPro is freeware -- so no excuses!

MalwareScannerPro's installation and setup involve selecting several scan options that you can change later on. The greenish-hued user interface and blocky layout aren't exactly up-to-date or attractive, but that's a minor issue. It's wise to start with a full system scan, but MalwareScannerPro's scan took much longer than similar tools -- much too long, in fact. How long? More than 24 hours, by far the longest such scan we've ever run. Depth, not speed, is critical for full system scans, but more than a day? Similar tools scan about ten times quicker. Of course, MalwareScannerPro's regular scans are quicker, too, and they can be customized (and shortened) by excluding common, safe files like images. MalwareScannerPro tracked Scanned Files and Items Scanned, displaying results in the main window's list view. We could select or deselect files from the results for cleaning or add them to the Ignore List. The program keeps several logs. Of course, part of what MalwareScannerPro does is head off infections before they require a deep scan to discover. If you enable real-time protection, then let MalwareScannerPro load with Windows.

We typically rely on two or three anti-malware tools in addition to our primary security. We mostly run them once a week or so, and it's not uncommon for one to find a PUP that the others miss, though not everything flagged is malware! Review twice, delete once is our rule of thumb. MalwareScannerPro has plenty to recommend it once you're past the overly-lengthy full-system scan.